High-Yield Entertainment Stocks - 8166 views

SAN FRANCISCO (Stockerblog) -- There's no business like show business. There are many aspects to entertainment: amusement parks, motion picture production companies, theater chains, television, sports, and many other areas. Show business has always been considered inflation-proof. When people can't afford to travel to Europe or on expensive cruises, they go to the movies, an amusement park within driving distance, or just a "stay-cation," sitting at home watching TV.

There are numerous opportunities to invest in this sector, and many of them that pay dividends in excess of 2.5%. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com recently updated its free spreadsheet database of all the high yielding entertainment stocks and notes that pay dividends, with yields approaching as much as 7%.

One example is Cedar Fair LP (FUN), with the memorable stock ticker symbol. The stock yields 2.7%, and has been paying quarterly dividends since 1988. The dividend rate was recently increased by 11.8% over last year's payout rate. Revenue for the latest quarter was up 3.2%, however the company recently generated negative earnings. Since the company is structured as a limited partnership, a K-1 will be issued instead of a 1099, so more tax paperwork involved.

Regal Entertainment Group (RGC) operates a chain of movie theaters throughout the U.S. in mid-sized metropolitan markets and the suburbs. The company has a forward price to earnings ratio of 19.3, and pays a decent dividend of 6.7%. Earnings for the latest quarter were up an incredible 625%.

Another motion picture chain that has theaters in North and South America is Cinemark Holdings Inc. (CNK), with a forward PE of 12.6, and an extremely generous yield of 4.2%. Earnings for the latest quarter were up over 1.8%.

You can check out a list of more than a dozen entertainment stocks and notes with yields above 2%, six of which yield more than 6%, all of which can be found at wsnn.com. Some of the stocks on the list are senior notes, which trade like preferred stocks.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Fred Fuld III, the publisher of stock and bond investing blog Stockerblog and founder of WallStreetNewsNetwork, has been in the financial services industry for over 20 years, working as an investment advisor, options market maker at the Pacific Stock Exchange, vice president of a San Francisco money management firm, university faculty member and wholesaler for the New Alternatives Fund (the first environmentally conscious mutual fund). He is the author of the books Investing in Brazil Stocks and The Green Light on Green Stocks.